Practice was winding down, and the shots weren’t going down. So an assistant boys basketball coach at Lower Merion High School huddled the players, addressed them … and then the Aces’ lone spectator emerged from the shadows.

“You know, he’s spent half his life living in what you’d call Hollywood,” Lower Merion coach Gregg Downer said of Kobe Bryant, “but he’s never lost traction with who he is and where he came from.”

Earlier this month, Bryant became the fifth player in NBA history to score 30,000 points. Saturday, he took in a practice conducted by Downer, his high school coach, at his alma mater. Sunday, he and the Lakers took down the Sixers, 111-98.

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Life’s been busy for Bryant, who’s found time to average 29.3 points in 38.1 minutes per game despite requiring frequent injections into his back to combat the pain. Bryant suited up and started at Wells Fargo Center. Maybe it was because he was back home, where he was greeted at his locker by two soft pretzels and a bottle of mustard.

“It’s like the 30th time he’s done it,” said Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni. “I’m sure he still gets a rise out of it. I’ve been around Kobe a lot. He feels every game is a big game. No matter where we are, he’s coming at you.”

Another member of the 30,000-point club, Michael Jordan, was coached by Sixers coach Doug Collins at two stops in his Hall of Fame career.

Collins sees more than a few similarities between the Bryant and Jordan.

“Greatness answers the bell every night,” Collins said of Bryant recently.

“I’m a scorer, man. You don’t get 30,000 points without knowing how to put yourself in positions to shoot it,” Bryant said. “The ball just always — it finds scorers, no matter what system you’re in. Getting up 30 shots ain’t easy. People don’t know how to do that.

“Michael took 49 shots in the Finals and lost. Could you picture me doing that?”

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Perhaps the L.A. media goaded him into it, or maybe Andrew Bynum was simply in a chatty mood, but the former Lakers center made a rare exception and answered a few questions.

Yes, he’s still visiting his doctor in New York Thursday. Yes, the right knee is totally pain free. And yes, Bynum can’t wait to get on the court again.

“You want to play against your old team, always. Just the same, I don’t know when I’ll be back,” Bynum told reporters in pregame. “I guess I’m just excited to play any game at this point.”

Bynum is hoping for good news this week, when he stops by David Altchek’s office for an MRI and an update on the bilateral bone bruises in his knees. If all goes well, Bynum could be practicing soon.

“I think I’ll do wonders for this team, because right now we really don’t have a post threat and that will help free up a lot of our guys on the outside, the knock-down shooters,” Bynum said of the Sixers.

Bynum, by the way, is here to stay, according to Tony DiLeo. After the game, the Sixers’ general manager said there was no validity to a Yahoo! Sports report that Bynum is on the trading block.

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Jrue Holiday participated in shootaround, but couldn’t play for the second straight game. Collins said it might be “a few more days” before Holiday feels healthy enough to return.

“I think his foot is still a little too sore, so I don’t think it’s us putting a harness on him or holding him back,” said Collins. “I don’t think he can play.”

The Sixers’ leading scorer, Holiday sustained the left foot injury Wednesday in a loss to Chicago. Collins said Holiday remains in pain, which makes playing him a risk.

“It’s obviously not something we want to do — put him out there with a sore foot,” Collins said. “He would want to be on the floor because he’s from LA, but you’ve got 59 games left or something like that. I think it’s just a soft-tissue (thing). All the tests show he’s getting better. He was at shootaround this morning.”

Two months ago, the Lakers were runaway favorites to win the title. Funny how quickly things change.

Jodie Meeks, the former Sixer, thinks a championship can still be in Los Angeles’ cards, even if the losses have been as rampant as the lofty expectations lobbed at his teammates.

“It’s kind of similar to when I was in college,” said Meeks, who’s averaging 7.9 points in 16 minutes per game. “At Kentucky, they had expectations to win the championship. If you don’t, it’s pretty much a failure. It’s kind of the same thing in L.A. It’s been fun. It’s been a good experience to play with future Hall of Famers.”